Storm that nearly swept away the Met Office

Victorian-era weather alerts saved many mariners but a row over 'useless' Met Office forecasts halted warnings for two years

Storm warnings are a vital part of the work of the Met Office based in the UK, but 150 years ago the very idea of such forecasts was highly controversial.

In July 1867 William Sykes MP drew attention in the Commons to the fact that storm warnings had been suppressed, and called for them to be reinstated.